Pages

Friday, September 19, 2014

Holy crap, I think I need to get it together. I just did my first speed workout in a couple months and I feel like I'm going to pass out. After a 5 minute warm up of about .5-.6 miles, I did my workout.It was 5x 275 meters and here is how it broke down:1st- 60 sec2nd- 57 sec3rd- 56 sec4th- 56 sec5th- 58 secAs my 275 run equates to .17 miles, the 60 second lap works out to a 5:41/mile pace. Obviously, the others were slightly faster. I am happy about the speeds I was able to go. However, even though my fitness levels are coming back, my racing fitness is nonexistent right now.This weekend, I will lay out a solid month schedule that I will post on Sunday that will layout my training and specifically where my speed work and long runs will fall. I need to be more efficient with my running and I have a solid couple months before the weather goes completely to shit (hopefully).I did job a bit after the speed work to stretch out the workout and in total, probably ended up with around 3 miles of running.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

I will jog tonight. I haven't been on the treadmill in awhile and I need a break from jogging the same route on my afternoon run. Consequently, I took advantage of the nice weather and got a good walk in, covering 3 miles in 45 minutes. That's a 4 mph pace and it was great, except for the black walnuts I keep stepping on.In looking ahead, my main running goal coming up is maintaining fitness throughout the winter. I will no doubt need to run less often, but I will continue to run. In addition to running, when the cold comes, so will the cross training. Weights, bike, jump rope, yoga, etc. Next spring, I will be much more ready to run and race. For now, jog tonight and speed work tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

I am into internal Mantras. I like to have something to fall back on as I run to remind myself why I am doing this or to motivate me to work harder, or simply to not stop. One that I use often, and sometimes tell players that I coach or have coached in the past is this:

Somewhere, there are people just like you that are training for the same races you are. The question is, "Who's working harder?"

After a 10 miler yesterday, I chose to dial it back for obvious reasons today. I got out for a half hour quick walk. It doesn't really matter, but I averaged 15 minute miles walking so I got in 2 miles. More importantly, I loosened up the muscles and shook off the soreness (luckily there wasn't much). I feel like I am in a better position to run again tomorrow. It will be an easy 5-6 miles tomorrow, nothing hard effort or anything, just get some miles in. Then on Friday, I jump into my first speed session in awhile.I am deciding on what type of speedwork to do. It will either be repeats of 400-600 meters, or a progression set of intervals, starting at 300m, then 600m, then 900m, etc. I don't know. I have time to decide. Regardless of what I choose, it will be punishing.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Sometimes, it just works out better than you thought it would. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, today was to be my first long run since the middle of July. I set a goal yesterday of 10 miles and figured it would be a doable challenge. I woke up to a complete downpour this morning and in my head thought, "F."As luck would have it, by the time I set out for my run this afternoon, it had dried up and was sunny. I set my watch and off I went. About 5 miles in, I realized I was feeling pretty good and set a goal based on the time I was at. I figured I could average about 8:15/mile pace and finish the 10 miles just over 1:20ish.As I got closer to the end, I got a little more competitive each mile. I eventually realized that with a consistent effort, I would finish with a pace of under 8:00/mile. That would be seriously satisfying for my first run of any real distance in 2 months.I finished the run at 1:18:28, good for a pace of 7:50/mile. The only time I was above 8:00/mile pace was in miles 1 and 2. The fastest mile splits I had were miles 6 and 7, which registered at 7:20/mile and 7:25/mile respectively. Also, I ran the first 5 miles in 40:27 and the second 5 miles I negative split for a 39:57 second half.Now that the workout is over, I look ahead to a day or two of recovery and rest. On Friday, I go for my first speed session with 400-600 meter repeats. Get after it.

Monday, September 15, 2014

It is absolutely perfect outside. Low 70's temps, sunny, and a little breeze made going for a run a great 40 minutes. I ran 5 miles at 8:04/mile pace and finished up in just about 40:20. I had more time to run, however, I am planning tomorrow as my first long run in awhile so I did not want to overextend myself today. Tomorrow, I am looking to break the 10 mile mark for the first time in a long time. I am a month away from a 5K that I want to do well in so it's time to get going and get some long runs in and some speed work in the next 2-3 weeks. Fueling during long runs is debated topic. I bring this up because I will be breaking the 1 hour mark running tomorrow and that is generally considered the point at which you need to start refueling. I will post about this topic in detail soon. A basic principle behind refueling is that when you run past an hour, simply drinking water will not replace electrolytes that are being lost. Think sodium, potassium, etc. Tomorrow, I will be using Hammer Gels and washing them down with water. Speaking of needing to refuel, anyone doing any races in the near future? I would love to have a couple guest bloggers write about their experiences with their races, fueling, spectators, the scene, etc.

I know two friends is doing the NYC Marathon, so if you are reading this Sean and Jeremy, I definitely want a guest post from you guys in November!